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Professor Kathleen Wellman, Department Chair
Professors: Jeremy Adams, Peter Bakewell, John Chávez, Dennis Cordell, Edward Countryman, James Hopkins, Donald Niewyk, Daniel Orlovsky, Sherry Smith, David Weber, R. Hal Williams; Associate Professors: Crista DeLuzio, Melissa Dowling, Kenneth Hamilton, Thomas Knock, Benjamin Johnson, Glenn Linden, Alexis McCrossen, John Mears; Assistant Professor: Sabri Ates; Instructor: Ling Shiao.
Candidates must have a minimum of 12 term hours of advanced-level undergraduate work in history and make acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination. If English is not the applicant’s native language, he or she must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score 550 or higher. Students must submit a statement of purpose, an example of their written work and official transcripts. Three letters of recommendation are also required. Prospective students must submit their applications and all supporting documents by February 1. Candidates must apply for specific admission to one of the fields of concentration offered. Students may begin the program only in the fall term.
The history department normally requires a minimum 3.00 G.P.A. overall and a 3.00 average in history for admittance to the M.A. program. Provisional admission is possible in exceptional cases.
Candidates must present evidence of competence in a foreign language or take the history department foreign language examination given in September of the first term of graduate study. For specific fields, the department may require study of a necessary language (such as Latin or Greek for ancient European history) before actual entry. All students will be required to demonstrate reading ability in a foreign language before enrolling for thesis credit.
The Clements Department of History offers the M.A. degree in five fields of concentration:
In special circumstances, the graduate committee may authorize the study of some other major field of history.
Each student will be assigned a major adviser at entrance. The major adviser and the director of graduate studies will work with each student to plan a specific course of study, which may include up to six credits in fields or departments outside the major field of study.
Students are required to earn 30 term hours of credit at the 5000 or 6000 level. A 6000-level course can include participation in an undergraduate major history course at the 3000 level, together with additional requirements that the instructor assigns. The structure of programs includes:
HIST 6300. Historiography (3 credits)
Two colloquia or reading courses at the 5000 or 6000 level in the field of concentration (6 credits)
One course at the 5000 or 6000 level designated as a research course (3 credits)
Four additional courses at the 5000 or 6000 level (two each term) in the history department or courses in other departments or fields as approved by the major adviser and director of graduate studies (12 credits)
At the completion of these courses and upon satisfaction of the language requirement, students will take an oral examination in a major field based in part on the specific courses the student has completed. The committee will consist of three members of the department, one of whom is to be selected from outside the field of concentration. A unanimous positive vote of the examining committee is necessary for the student to pass the qualifying examination. After passing the examination, all students will write, present and defend a thesis based on the definition of a historical problem, mastery of the historiography and methodology posed by the problem and significant use of primary source material. (6 credits thesis)
All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university (Students from abroad must hold the equivalent degree.), with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.00, and have completed at least 12 advanced hours in history. Applicants must submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. If English is not the applicant’s native language, he or she must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score 550 or higher.
Students must submit a statement of purpose, an example of their written work and official transcripts. Three letters of recommendation are also required. In addition, applicants should possess a foundation in Spanish sufficient to enable them to pass an examination in translation from Spanish to English in September of the first year of study. Prospective students must submit their applications and all supporting documents by February 1.
Historiography (3 credits). In the first term, students will take HIST 6300 (three credits), a historiography course that introduces them to the professional study of history. Readings vary from year to year, but cover a broad range of methodologies, perspectives and topics. The course also addresses historical writing, research techniques and historical sources.
American History (24 credits). The major field in American history offers broad preparation. During the first two years, students will take a sequence of four courses based upon intensive readings in American history (12 credits) from the era of Indian-European contact to the present, in order to acquire a mastery of the historiography of the field. The colloquia emphasize new problems, interpretations and debates vital to the study of American history. In addition, students take four specialization courses (12 credits) that may vary in both content and method; these take the form of graduate courses, graduate/senior-level reading seminars and/or individual directed readings. According to individual interests and requirements, one or two of these courses may be taken in another department.
The Southwest and Mexico (12 credits). Students also will develop a field in Southwestern/Mexican history by taking a minimum of 12 credits of course work. A research seminar (three credits) and a colloquium (three credits) on the Southwest or Mexico comprise half of the field. The remaining courses (six credits) should be chosen in consultation with the adviser. Students who have completed a seminar and colloquium on Mexico might take these six hours in Southwestern history (including Mexican-American, Western or Native-American history), whereas students who have completed their seminar and colloquium on the Southwest might take these six hours on Mexico.
Students may also wish to enrich their historical understanding of the region by taking courses in other fields such as anthropology, literature or religious studies. Then, too, the program offers unusual opportunities for students to broaden and deepen their knowledge of this dynamic field of inquiry. The resources include the Clements Center for Southwest Studies, with its symposia, research fellows and distinguished visitors; SMU’s DeGolyer Library, a repository for a remarkable collection of books and manuscripts on Mexico and the Southwest; and the Meadows Museum of Art, which houses one of the world’s finest collections of early modern Spanish art outside of Spain.
Global and Comparative History (12 credits). The third field, in global and comparative history (12 credits), places the American experience in larger contexts by introducing students to the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that have guided advanced research in recent decades. The field also provides broad interdisciplinary perspectives on particular topics of global significance. Students begin this field of study by taking a colloquium (three credits) that explores influential methodologies and theoretical perspectives in global and comparative history, including the Annales school, world-system and dependency analysis, cross-cultural approaches, ecological history, postcolonial and comparative methods. These are followed by three specialized courses (nine credits) that treat individual topics and themes in comparative contexts. Topics and themes include urbanization, migration, industrialization, revolution, slavery and gender roles.
Ph.D. Research Paper Requirement. Students will take two courses during the first two years of study designated as research courses. The goal is to produce significant work based on primary sources and of a quality comparable to an article in a scholarly journal.
Qualifying Examination. An oral examination on the three
major fields will be taken in the middle of the third year of study.
Teaching Practicum (noncredit). A study of methods and content in the teaching
of history coupled with classroom teaching experience.
Dissertation (3 credits). A formal defense is conducted upon completion of the dissertation.
Learning to be an effective instructor is a vital part of the Ph.D. program. The centerpiece of teacher preparation, to occur in the fourth year, is a mentoring program tailored to the interests and needs of each student. Students will work closely with professors in the planning and teaching of an individual course. They will also meet with professors in informal or formal seminars to discuss topics related to teaching and participate in the teaching assistant seminar offered by SMU’s Commission on Teaching and Learning and the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
The history department will award fellowships to all students accepted into the Ph.D. program. Funding is guaranteed for a period of five years for those whose work remains excellent. Fellowships include tuition, fees, health insurance and a $15,500 stipend for the academic year. In addition, the Clements Department of History has resources available for travel to professional conferences and to research archives.
5330, 5331. Seminar in Mexican-American History. An examination of the growing historiography on Mexican-Americans. Focuses on the relationship between their ethnic identity and the Southwest. (also listed under Latin American history)
5340, 5341. Seminar in American History. Intensive examination of major topics in American history.
5344. American Cultural History. The histories of cultural institutions, objects, ideas and practices. Explores an array of representative cultural conflicts and obsessions that have marked American history.
5345. Industrialism and Reform in the United States, 1877-1919. An investigation of life in Gilded Age and Progressive-period America including industrialization, urbanization and social conflict.
5350. Twentieth Century America: A Seminar. Intensive examination of major developments in American history.
5364. The City of God: Utopias in Christian Tradition. An examination of St. Augustine’s masterpiece, along with several of its models and analogues from the Greco-Roman and Hebrew traditions.
5367. Russia from the Kievan Era to 1881. The development of state and society from the beginnings of history in East Slavic territory through the era of the Great Reforms.
5370. Seminar in French History. An examination of key historians and of the several modes of historiographical writing that shape our vision of pre-modern France.
5371. The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789-1815. The nature and causes of revolution, the French Revolution and the career of Napoleon Bonaparte.
5372. Europe from Napoleon to Bismarck, 1815-1870. The aftermath of Napoleon’s empire with special consideration of the revolutions of 1848.
5373. Europe from Bismarck to World War I, 1870-1918. Studies some of the modern world’s most potent ideas – imperialism, social Darwinism, Marxism, racism and positivism – in the context of Europe at the peak of its influence.
5374. Recent European History, 1918 to the Present. Considers two attempts to revive Europe from the effects of disastrous world wars, as well as the sources of new vigor it has found in the past 30 years.
5375. Europe in the Age of Louis XIV. The Scientific Revolution, the culture of the Baroque and development of the European state system under the impact of the Thirty Years’ War and the wars of Louis XIV.
5376. Europe in the Age of the Enlightenment, 1715-1789. A study of society and culture in 18th-century Europe, Enlightenment philosophies, rococo art, the classical age of music, enlightened despotism and the coming of the French Revolution.
5378. Medieval Renaissances. A reading-and-discussion seminar on two bursts of medieval cultural activity: the Carolingian and 12th-Century Renaissances. Focuses on two case studies (Alcuin and John of Salisbury).
5382. Seminar in Latin American History. Intensive examination of major topics in Latin American history.
5390. Seminar in Russian History. Advanced seminar covering selected topics in late imperial and Soviet history. Prerequisites: HIST 3340 or 3341 or permission of the instructor.
5391. Athenian Democracy. The development of democratic government in Athens and the functioning of that government in peace and in war.
5392. Seminar in European History. Intensive examination of major topics in European history. Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of the instructor.
6000. Research.
6034. Teaching Seminar. Non-credit teaching seminar for graduate students.
6049. Graduate Full-time Status, Master’s Level.
6300. Historiography. Required of all candidates. Designed to familiarize graduate students with the tools of historical research, the discipline’s methodology and the problems of historical writing.
6301. Colloquium in Early American History. A readings course covering the major problems in American history between 1500 and 1812.
6302. Colloquium in American History, 1812-1877. A readings course covering the major problems in American history from 1814 to 1877.
6303. Colloquium: Late 19th/Early 20th Century America. A readings course covering the major problems in American history between 1877 and 1932.
6304. Colloquium: Modern America 1929-Present. A readings course that covers major issues in modern American history from the onset of the Great Depression roughly to the present day.
6305. Colloquium: The Hispanic Southwest. A readings seminar that introduces graduate students to ways that scholars have interpreted the Southwest’s Hispanic past under Spain and Mexico and the ongoing Hispanic presence in the region after 1848.
6308. Seminar in American History. An examination of major topics in American history.
6315. Global/Comparative History: Methods and Theories. A colloquium exploring various techniques of research and analysis used by contemporary scholars to investigate major historical problems from a global or comparative perspective.
6316. Colloquium: Comparisons of World-Historical Borderlands. A comparative study of borderlands in four distinct regions: China’s northern frontier, classical Rome’s Germanic and Near Eastern frontiers, early modern Europe’s steppe frontier and the American Southwest/Northern Mexico. Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of one foreign language.
6317. The Frontiers of Spanish History, 218 B.C. to A.D. 1492. Multicultural interaction across several kinds of frontier in pre-modern Spanish history, from the Second Punic War to the unifying reign of the Catholic kings.
6318. Comparative History of Women. Comparative study of women’s history in antiquity, East Asia, the Islamic world, Europe and/or the United States, with an introductory section on the theory of women’s history and one or more thematic sections on topics such as politics, sexuality and work.
6322, 6323. Readings in History. Directed readings on specific problems or themes formulated by the student with faculty guidance.
6324. Readings in History. Directed readings on specific problems or themes formulated by the student with faculty guidance. Prerequisite: Twelve term hours of graduate work.
6325. Colloquium: History of New Spain and Mexico. A readings seminar designed to address main themes and historiographical issues in the history of Mexico since the 16th century. Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of Spanish.
6326. Colloquium: Mexican-American Historiography of the Southwest. An examination of the historiography on Mexican Americans, focusing on the relationship between their ethnic identity and the Southwest.
6327. Research on the Southwest as a Region. Using a variety of historical approaches and methods, students investigate regionalism as a national and transnational concept describing the Southwest. Each student produces a lengthy paper based on primary research.
6331, 6332. Problems in United States Foreign Relations. Major problems in American foreign relations from the revolutionary era to the present.
6335. Problems in United States Social and Cultural History to 1877. An examination of American cultural development in its social context from the colonial period to 1877.
6336. Problems in United States Social and Cultural History since 1877. An examination of American cultural development in its social context from 1877 to present.
6337, 6338. Problems in United States Political History. An examination of major topics in U.S. political history.
6341, 6342. History of European Ideas. Major themes in European intellectual developments from the Renaissance to the present.
6343, 6344. Problems in Modern German History. Selected issues in the history of the German-speaking peoples from the Reformation to World War II.
6345, 6346. Problems in Early Modern European History.
6347, 6348. Problems in Recent Modern European History.
6349, 6350. Problems in Medieval History. Directed readings and analyses of selected medieval documents and secondary bibliography.
6352. Problems in Medieval Spanish History. Directed readings and analyses of selected medieval Spanish documents and secondary bibliography.
6353, 6354. Problems in the History of Spain and Portugal. Social, cultural and political themes characteristic of the Iberian peninsula from Roman times to the present.
6355, 6356. Problems in Latin American History. Selected topics in Latin American history from the age of exploration and discovery to the mid-20th century.
6357. Problems in Mexican History. Major themes in the evolution of Mexican society and the place of Mexico in the history of the Americas.
6363. The American Civil War and Reconstruction. The nature, causes and impact of the American Civil War, with emphasis upon current historiographical issues.
6370, 6371. Colloquium in European History.
6372. The Apotheosis of Caesar and the Fall of the Roman Republic. The fall of the Roman republic and the rise of the empire as a direct consequence of the life and death of Julius Caesar.
6379. Colloquium in Ibero-American History.
6380, 6381. Colloquium in American History.
6383. Tudor-Stuart Britain. Political, social, economic and religious themes in British history from 1485 to 1714.
6385, 6386. Problems in British History.
6389. Theory and Practice in the Teaching of History.
6394. Practicum in Archival Methods and Administration. An individualized course designed to provide students with both theoretical and practical training in one or more archives and museums in the Dallas area.
6395. Practicum in Museum Studies. An individualized course designed to provide theoretical training and practical experience for students who hope to pursue museum-related careers. In tutorial and apprentice situations, students will be introduced to the history and philosophy of museums and their administrative and curatorial functions.
6396. Practicum in Oral History. Intensive practical training in oral history, emphasizing interviewing preparation and techniques, but with some attention to the technical processing of oral history interviews before these can be made available to researchers (gaining legal consent, transcribing, editing, indexing and final preparation).
6397. Practicum in the Teaching of History. A study of methods and content in the teaching of history. Special emphasis will be placed on actual teaching experience at the high school or college level.
6398, 6399. Thesis. Research and writing of the M.A. thesis with guidance from the student’s thesis director.
7000. Teacher Preparation. A non-credit course for the teaching component of the doctoral program in which the student will work closely with a professor in the planning and teaching of an individual course.
7398, 7399. Research.
8049. Graduate Full-Time Status, Ph.D. Level.
8398, 8399. Dissertation – Ph.D. Candidates.
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